LAKE MACQUARIE CITY LIBRARY COALMINING AND POWER COLLECTION ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE prepared by Hunter History Consultants Pty Ltd in association with John Shoebridge June 2008 CONTENTS Page No. 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 2.0 SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANISATION 3 AND ITS COLLECTION 2.1 Description of the Organisation 3 2.2 Description of the Collection 5 3.0 HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COLLECTION 6 3.1 History of the Collection 6 3.1.1 The Coal Mining Collection 7 3.1.2 The Power Collection 7 3.2 Relationship Between the Collection and its Storage Facility 8 3.3 Condition of the Collection 8 3.4 Comparative Collections 10 3.5 Community Comments 11 3.6 Statement of Significance for the Entire Collection 11 3.6.1 Significance of the Coal Mining Collection 11 3.6.2 Significance of the Power Collection 12 4.0 METHODOLOGY 13 4.1 Authorship 13 4.2 Assessment of Coal Mining Collection 13 4.3 Assessment of Power Collection 14 5.0 KEY RECOMMENDATIONS 15 5.1 Preservation and Storage 15 5.2 Cataloguing 15 5.3 Digitisation 16 6.0 REFERENCES 17 7.0 APPENDICES 1 Range and Scope of Collection 2 Summary of Examined Items 3 Examples of Randomly Selected Items with Suggested Cataloguing Format 4 Database of Examined Items 1 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Lake Macquarie City Library Coalmining and Power Collection is a valuable collection of plans, charts and maps which relate to coal mining and electricity generation in the Hunter Region. Estimated to contain over 11,000 items, the collection was donated to the Library in 2000 by Coal and Allied Industries (Coal and Allied). The coal mining collection is part of a much larger collection which belonged to Coal and Allied, a company which can trace its origins in the Hunter Valley to the early 1850s. It contains documents dating from the 1930s to the 1980s, primarily relating to collieries which were owned by the company. The significance of this portion of the collection is related to its ability to provide information relating to the complex and exacting requirements of the coal industry during times in great change, and the level of technical competence necessary and available to safely and economically mine the rich resources of Hunter Valley coal. It also provides a significant contribution to the understanding of the role played by Coal and Allied in the development and operations of coal mining in the Hunter Valley, and to the operation of over fifty coal mines which are represented in the collection. The power collection appears to contain a complete set of construction plans for Wangi Power Station, which was decommissioned in 1986. The significance of this site is acknowledged by its listing on the State Heritage Register. As previous attempts by heritage professionals to locate such plans have been unsuccessful, this portion of the collection has a high level of significance. As well as their archival value, the documents in the collection are of value as possible aids to future re-use and adaptation of the buildings and services, and for possible use in conservation and interpretive displays. The value of this collection has recently become more apparent as there is a current proposal for refurbishment of the former power station. There is an urgent need for the provision of a suitable storage facility for the entire collection, and for the preservation of the items which are currently stored in eleven plan cabinets which are housed in a shipping container adjacent to Morisset Library. The plan cabinets are old, worn and rusting. Some of the drawers in the cabinets are stiff, difficult to open, and some do not close completely. The majority of the documents are in good condition, but irreversible damage is being caused by the condition of the cabinets, while conditions inside the shipping container are also detrimental to the collection due to ranges and fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Proper cataloguing, including digitisation, is also necessary in order to make the information contained within the collection accessible. Positive responses from heritage professionals, community groups and individuals concerned with the coal and power industries are a clear indication of the importance of the collection. 2 2.0 SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANISATION AND ITS COLLECTION 2.1 Description of the Organisation (provided by Lake Macquarie City Library) Lake Macquarie City Library commenced service as Lake Macquarie Shire Library in 1950. The library serves a population of 193,092 (ABS June 2006 ERP). There are 56,995 registered active borrowers (who have used the library in the last two years). Visitors were 845,615 in 2005/06. The Library currently operates 10 branches and a mobile library service. Special services include home library delivery, special needs, family history and general research assistance, and local history. The local history collection is primarily housed at Speers Point and Morisset Branch Libraries. The Library actively seeks donations of local history materials and works cooperatively with local history and family history groups in the area. The Library records local oral history. The current project, following the Storms June 2007 project, is The Fernleigh Track oral history. Our image collection is available through Pictures Australia and at www.lakemac.com.au. The library celebrates special events with the community such as History Week and Heritage Afloat with exhibitions and presentations. Lake Macquarie City Council has published a number of historical items with the assistance of the Library: 100 years of Local Government in Lake Macquarie From Mistake to Millenium: a pictorial history of Lake Macquarie The Aboriginals of Lake Macquarie Lake Macquarie Past and Present The Human Face of Coal (Oral history) Lake Macquarie the way it was (Oral history) Lake Macquarie Heritage Study Reid's Mistake: the story of Lake Macquarie from its discovery until 1890. The History of Windale: a surprise township Lake Macquarie Storm Stories 8-11 June 2007 (Oral history) 3 Lake Macquarie City Council Cultural Plan 2007-2013 recognises the crucial role of the library in collecting and preserving the City's history. http://www.lakemac.com.au/downloads/Cultural%20Plan.pdf 341,486 total Library items on our catalogue (March 2008). The collection includes print, multi-media, electronic resources, manuscripts, original documents, clippings, ephemera and photographs. The material is housed throughout the 10 branch libraries and the mobile library. Each service point has access to the catalogue, electronic databases and the internet. There are 1850 catalogued items in the Local History collection at Speers Point Branch and 5,499 photographs on the website. All of the catalogued items are available for viewing at the Library and some are available for loan. Many of these items are self- published by the authors with research assistance by Library Information Services. The history of Lake Macquarie suburbs is available at www.lakemac.com.au As well as many historical items which have been donated, the Library has three unique collections: 1. The Pickering Collection of photographs and memorabilia relating to Charlestown (suburb) housed at Speers Point Library 2. The Jones-Mashman Collection, a unique collection of historical material relating to the Morisset Cooranbong area housed at Morisset Library. 3. The Coal and Power Collection donated by Coal & Allied (Rhondda Colliery) in 2000 and housed adjacent to Morisset Library in temporary storage. There are at least 11,000 items in this collection. It is this collection which is the subject of this submission. The Library Collection Development Policy aims to provide a balanced selection of library materials to cater for the personal reading, reference, self-education, leisure needs and interests of all the people of Lake Macquarie. The collection of the Library reflects the demographic, geographic and cultural characteristics of the community. In addition, the main areas of specialisation are Local History (including the Local History Photograph Collection), Local Environment and Genealogy. We aim to collect, catalogue and preserve all records relating to Lake Macquarie on our environmental, social, cultural and industrial history. 4 2.2 Description of the Collection The collection consists of an extensive range of plans and diagrams which contain a wealth of information of a technical nature. It comprises two distinct parts, the larger part relating to the coal mining industry in the Hunter Region, while the other smaller but still significant part relates to power generation in Lake Macquarie. The documents relate mostly to the period between the 1950s and the 1980s, with some documents from earlier decades. The mining collection consists of plans and diagrams from over 50 different Hunter Valley collieries, the majority of which were owned by Coal and Allied. It provides a comprehensive overview of many aspects of the coal mining industry over this period, including geology and geography, exploration and coal analysis, methods of mining, use of mechanical equipment, coal preparation, coal haulage, site rehabilitation and mine safety. The power station collection contains engineering and architectural plans relating specifically to the buildings and plant of the State Heritage listed Wangi Power Station. It appears to be a complete and original set of drawings and plans, detailing the construction, commissioning and operational phase of the power station. The items in the collection have been produced on various different materials, including linen, paper, drafting paper and acrylic sheet. Due to time constraints and the methodology adopted for this assessment, it is not known exactly how many items are included in the collection. However, it is estimated that the mining collection contains around 6,800 items, and the power station collection approximately 5,000 items. The collection currently occupies eleven map cabinets, nine devoted to mining records and the remaining two containing plans of Wangi Power Station.